Root of the Problem
by Space Ace of Stars
Summary: Inuoka may only have known Shibayama for a few months so far, but he knows he likes Shibayama. Inuoka may only be in his first year of high school but he has some knowledge of hanahaki disease. Inuoka can put two previous statements together and know that he's in trouble.
1. Blooming Friendships

**Author's Note: Idk why I decided to write this? I had some hanahaki headcanons a few weeks back then this morning I figured I could make a whole fic out of this. This is my first and most likely last time writing a hanahaki au.**

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**Inuoka's POV:**

"Have a great first day of school, Sou." My mom says before wrapping me in a hug.

"Thanks mom! I'll tell you all about it when I get home." I say after escaping her hug and I make my way to the train station so I can go to Nekoma.

I get off when the train reaches the station closest to school and from there it's another 10 minutes of walking. When I reach the school grounds, I pause. I'm finally beginning my high school experience. I enter the building and make my way to the first class.

Since it's the first day, our teachers mainly have us do some activities to get to know each other.

Before I know it, the first day of school is over and it's time for clubs. I go to my locker to get my things when I notice a shorter boy with dark hair standing on his toes and struggling to reach his locker.

"Excuse me. Do you need any help?" I offer as I kneel down to unlock mine.

"I got it. It's just a struggle being 5'4". Besides, I can't keep asking for help until I have a growth spurt and become tall enough to see the numbers." He says. "I just need to hurry because I'm planning on joining a club."

"What club?" I ask while I get my stuff from my earlier classes and put it in my bag.

"Volleyball."

"No way! I'm planning on joining too! Do you have any experience?"

"Yeah, I was a libero in middle school. What about you?"

"Middle blocker. I'm Inuoka Sou, by the way. Figured we should probably know each other's names if we're gonna be on the same team."

"I'm Shibayama Yuuki. Nice to meet you, Inuoka-kun."

"Nice to meet you, Shibayama-kun. Hey I have an idea. Wanna see if we can trade lockers?" I offer.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?" Shibayama asks.

"Not at all."

He pauses for a moment, weighing his options, then checking the time. "If you're sure, then okay."

"C'mon. Let's go find a teacher so we don't miss too much of practice."

"Okay." We grab out bags and make our way to the faculty office.

We wait by the door and I wave to my homeroom teacher when I spot her. "Hello Inuoka-kun. What brings you here?"

"Hello, Takahashi-sensei. My friend, Shibayama-kun has a small problem. He has a top row locker and has had some trouble reaching his locker." Shibayama nods. "I'm fairly tall and I have a bottom row locker, so we were wondering if we could trade lockers."

"Sure thing. Come with me and we'll get you two set up."

After a few minutes, we leave the faculty office and run to our lockers. Once we are able to get our stuff sorted out, we run to the gym.

"Sorry we're late." We apologize. "Is it too late to join the club?"

"It's not to late." A guy just a bit taller than me, with messy black hair says. "We were just about to do introductions. I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, a third year, middle blocker, and team captain."

We spend practice introducing ourselves and also do some drills.

"Great job today." Coach Nekomata says at the end of practice. "We have many familiar faces and a few new people too. Welcome back to our returning players and I'd like to give a warm welcome to our new players. Here's to another wonderful school year. Get home safe, everyone."

When practice ends, everyone gathers their belongings and we start to leave the school grounds.

"Inuoka-kun! Wait up a minute?" I hear Shibayama ask and I pause, waiting for him. "It was really nice to meet you today and thanks for helping me with the locker problem." He bows.

"It was no problem. I'm looking forward to being on the same team as you for the next three years."

"Likewise. Do you want to exchange phone numbers so we can keep in touch?" I nod. We type our numbers into each other's phones and say goodbye before going in different directions.

"I'm home." I say, removing my shoes.

"Sou, how was school?" My dad asks.

"It was amazing! I made a new friend! His name is Shibayama and he has the locker above mine, well now below mine. We traded lockers because he couldn't reach his. And he plays volleyball too! And my teammates seem really cool!"

"That's great, kiddo."

I tell my parents more about my day while we have dinner then eventually, I go to bed, thinking about my amazing teammates and the next three years.

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**Author's Note: It's around the part where they got to practice on their first day of school that I realized my heart is gonna break when I keep writing this. I know this first chapter is really fluffy and I enjoyed writing it but it's gonna get a lot angstier in the next chapter. I will also make it up to you guys with a much flufflier Shibayama/Inuoka fic in the near future. Have a nice day! Chapter 2 should be up soon.**


	2. Sprouting Disasters

**Author's Note: As finals approach, I procrastinate more and more by writing. Plot twist: this is a multi-chapter story. I think this fic will have 4 chapters and for once I have them all planned out. Thank you to everybody who has read and enjoyed it so far. This chapter takes place after the training camp from season 2. **

**Updated Author's Note: I started this chapter while working on finals and now I'm on break and finished the chapter. Turns out it's 5 instead of 4.**

**Warnings for some mentions of death of loved ones during the part where Inuoka researches Hanahaki and looks at his options.**

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**Inuoka's POV:**

"Sou, are you awake?" My mom yells through the door after knocking.

"Yeah mom." I look and check the time. "I'll be right down." I yell back and instantly regretting it.

"Okay, sweetie." She says and I hear her footsteps disappear down the hall. I force myself to sit up and roll out of bed, getting ready for the day. Once I'm dressed, I grab my backpack and head downstairs to grab breakfast.

"Hey mom."

"Are you okay, Sou? Your voice sounds horse. Do you have a fever?" She starts asking questions and rests the back of her hand on my forehead.

"I'm fine mom. I think I'm just tired from the training camp." I pour myself a bowl of cereal and sit down to eat.

"Just try to take it easy today. If you aren't feeling well, go to the nurse's office and think about seeing if you can miss practice." I frown at my mom's suggestion. "I can also give you some cough drops if you want."

"Sure."

After eating breakfast, I head off to school and go to class. Since we had the training camp all of last week, coach Nekomata decided to give us the morning off from practice to rest.

-4 hours later-

The sore throat evolved into a headache as well.

"Are you okay?" Lev asks during lunch.

"Just a cold, Lev." I mumble with my head on the table. "Probably just my body saying 'fuck you' after the training camp."

"Have you been drinking enough water?" Shibayama asks. I nod and grab my water bottle, taking a sip and coughing for a moment.

"Are you okay?"

I nod and continue my coughing fit. "Water. Down the wrong tube." I wheeze out when the coughing stops.

I spend the rest of lunch with my head on the table while Shibayama helps Lev study.

-7 hours later-

I'm sitting at my desk working on some math homework. My cough from early today still hasn't gone away.

_Solve for the area and perimeter of the following shapes:_

I start working on the math problem then stop when I have another coughing fit though this one is much worse than the other. It feels like there's something caught in my throat. I decide to hit my chest with my hand which helps get the item out of my throat.

I pause and stare at the item on my desk that I just dislodged from my throat: a pink flower petal.

This has to be a mistake.

Moving my homework aside, I turn on my computer and go to search something.

After typing in "Why am I coughing up flowers?" I wait for the page to load and scroll through the results. All of them are articles about Hanahaki disease.

I know vaguely about Hanahaki but I decide to click on the first result and see if I can find out anything else. The website explains Hanahaki as a disease caused by unrequited love, which I already know. And I know that it's Shibayama that I love. Apparently Hanahaki is fairly common, which is something I didn't realize.

I close the search page and open Reddit and find a page about Hanahaki to see what I can find out about that isn't full of complicated medical stuff.

After a couple hours of reading the website I find out that there are basically 3 things I can do: I can either tell Shibayama about my feelings towards him and hope that he feels the same way, I can get surgery to remove it, or I can do nothing and die.

Doing nothing seems like the worst option. One Reddit thread was from people who had a friend or family member with Hanahaki. Some people have lost loved ones to the disease and it just didn't sound good. They often died due to having so many flowers build up in their lungs that they couldn't breathe. Some people died due to complications in surgery because they got the procedure too late. Regardless, it sounds slow and painful and not a fun time.

Surgery honestly doesn't sound that great either. Most people who died from surgery died because they didn't do anything until it was too late so the doctors couldn't remove the flowers safely. People who got surgery in the earlier stages of the disease were able to get it removed safely. While it seems like it would be a good idea there are a few problems. Firstly, when you have surgery to get the flowers removed, you also lose your feelings for the person you like and I don't think I want to give up my feelings for Shibayama. Also, I'd probably need to take time to recover after the surgery and I don't want to miss volleyball for that long. Also, I'd probably need to tell my parents and I'd rather not.

The final option is to tell Shibayama how I feel about him and if he returns my feelings that help me recover though that relies on me telling him how I feel and he would need to like me as well.

I think my sister is visiting home soon so I'll ask her about it next time I see her.

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**Author's Note: Remember chapter 1? When they were just meeting and it was like several hundred words of fluff and wholesome friendship? I miss that. This chapter was honestly a bit hard to write. I think this is probably the most painful chapter in the story so it can only get better from here. Thank you to everybody who has read and enjoyed the story so far. I meant to update sooner but finals happened and also this chapter was hard to write. So since I'm done with finals and I got past the hard to write part, updates should be more frequent. I think this story will have 5 chapters but that can change. Feel free to follow/review/favorite this fic if you've enjoyed so far. I actually did some research about flowers and flower symbolism for a school project this year so if you guys want, I can leave some facts about the flower that the petal the Inuoka coughed up comes from in the rest of the chapters.**


	3. I Don't Want to Wilt

**Author's Note: Thanks to everybody who has enjoyed the fic so far. We are here with chapter 3. This chapter takes place a couple weeks after the last one.**

**Warnings for lightheadedness (at the part where Inuoka goes to the club room) and mentions of vomiting, surgery, hospitals (when Yaku and Inuoka talk later in the chapter).**

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**Inuoka's POV:**

**_Shibayama!:_**

**_I need to find my pencil case. Gonna be a few minutes late to practice_**

_Want me to help look for it? Or wait for you?_

**_Nah I think I know where it is. Go on without me_**

**_But if Kuroo or coach ask can you let them know I'll be there soon?_**

_Sure thing!_

**_Thanks_**

I send one last text to Shibayama and head to the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face. I also take a moment to take a look at my reflection and yikes. The lack of sleep shows. I feel a coughing fit coming so I take a moment to get the petals out of my system. Better now than during practice. When I finish coughing, I discard the flower petals and start to jog to the club room.

I run into Kuroo, Yaku, and Kai on my way to the club room. They're probably heading to the gym.

"Hey senpai. Sorry about being late. I misplaced my pencil case earlier but I found it now. I just need to get changed for practice. I'll be at the gym in a few minutes."

"It's no problem. Just get ready and go to the gym." Kuroo says. Yaku's glaring at me and I feel really guilty for lying. Kai's gaze seems to be switching between looking at me and Yaku.

"Sure thing!" I say before running to the club room.

I quickly get changed into my shorts and shirt then pause. My vision starts to get dark and fuzzy around the edges and my limbs feel heavy. The ground is swaying so I decide to sit down, sinking to the floor faster than I expect.

The dizziness goes away but is replaced by another coughing fit. I grab the trash can from the corner and hug it as I cough up flowers.

"Inuoka? Shit. Inuoka!" Yaku runs over and crouches next to me. "Oh, Inuoka." He says, rubbing a hand on my back while I keep coughing up flowers and petals. After what feels like forever, the coughing stops and I push the trash can aside. The room is silent except for the sound of me trying to even out my breathing.

"Sorry about that. I'll go to the gym." I apologize and stand up, but Yaku immediately pulls me back down.

"No, you won't. You don't need to apologize for anything. Hey wait a minute were you going to practice in this state?" I need to choose my next words carefully because if not, I will most likely get some kind of lecture or scolding.

"Umm..." Great thinking, Sou. "Sorry I took away time you could've been practicing."

"I chose to come here. You had been gone awhile so I offered to check up here and I'm glad I did. When us third years saw you on our way to the gym you didn't look too well. Besides, this gives Shibayama some more experience. But back to the topic at hand, I can't believe you were going to play volleyball like this. Do you know how irresponsible that is?"

I nod. Guess the lecture is happening. "I just wasn't feeling well today, I'll be better soon." Yaku looks at me skeptically.

"This is Hanahaki we're talking about. This isn't having the chicken pox in first grade or the common cold, this is Hanahaki. If you don't do anything you can die. You can't play like this." I hug my legs to my chest and rest my chin on my knees.

"I know, Yaku-senpai." I mutter.

"Have you told anyone? A teacher? Friend? Parents?" He asks and I shake my head. "Were you planning on telling anyone?"

"I was gonna tell my sister next time she visits from school."

"And when's that?"

"Next weekend? She seemed busy with exams."

Yaku shakes his head and sighs. "You gotta do something about this now."

"It's not that bad." I object.

"You sure about that, kid?" He asks, grabbing the trash can. "Even if it's not bad now, and it is bad now, it'll get worse if you don't do something. Trust me."

"How do you know?" I ask. "Maybe if I let it do its thing, I'll get over my feelings for Yuuki and everything will be okay." I don't realize what I said until the words come out of my mouth. I cover my mouth with my hands when I realize I admitted that I love Shibayama and Shibayama is Yaku's successor as Nekoma's libero. Of all the people to tell, why did it have to be Yaku?

He scoffs. "I thought the same thing. If I let it be, I'll get over my feelings. If I let it be, it'll cure itself. Geez, I was naïve when I was younger."

"You…You had Hanahaki too?"

"It was earlier in high school. End of first year, start of second year. I thought if I didn't do anything it would go away but I was wrong. My parents found out and we talked about it. I think I had a really bad episode, spent maybe half an hour coughing and throwing up flowers which left me exhausted and I fell asleep. They found me lying on the ground with stray petals surrounding me and even more in the trash can. I'll never forget how scared they looked when I woke up. They were afraid they lost me and I didn't want them to worry. So, we talked about things and I said that I'd tell the person I like how I feel. The next week I confessed and I got turned down so I went home and told my parents. They were devastated and we talked about what to do next. We all agreed that surgery would be the best option."

We sit in silence when Yaku finishes and I make a mental list of questions.

"What was the surgery like? I did research and people who got the surgery said they lost their feelings for the person they were in love with."

"The surgery itself wasn't that bad. Everything went okay because my family caught it early. It was annoying having to take time to recover and not being able to play volleyball. And for the feelings, yeah, I lost my feelings of love and then we kinda stopped talking to each other but that didn't have anything to do with the surgery. My friend and I had gone to middle school together but we went to different high schools. It was hard to find time to hang out, but we tried and we also called and texted. Then I confessed, got turned down, and got the surgery. I don't know if he even knew about it. He had gotten a girlfriend sometime while I was in the hospital recovering, then he just didn't have time anymore. We didn't hang out, calls went to voicemail, and texts occurred less and less often."

"Did anyone else on the team know?"

"Yes, but not until after. I had to tell coach before the surgery because of the recovery time. I didn't outright tell anyone else on the team at first, but Kai figured it out. All the current second and third years know because they visited me while I was recovering and I told them then. I didn't bother telling the upperclassmen on the team about it and they didn't bother asking. You're the only current first year who knows though. Have you ever noticed how I tend to face away from everyone else when getting changed? That's because I have a scar from my surgery." He pauses for a moment. "But that's in the past, let's get back to you. So, you like Shibayama?"

"Yeah. He was my first friend on the team and at school. We hit it off right away and I guess at some point I fell in love."

"Is this your first time falling in love?"

"Yeah. And I don't want to get the surgery. I hate being sick and I hate this disease but this feeling of being in love, it's amazing. I don't want to lose this feeling, Yaku."

"I know, Inuoka." He says before I start rambling.

"Yaku, I'm scared." I confess. "This disease can kill me. I don't want to die. I'm so young. There's so much I want to accomplish in life. I've never gotten to go to nationals or graduate high school. I've never watched all the Harry Potter movies in a row. I still need to beat Kuroo at Mario-Kart. I've never been to a concert. I'm not ready to die yet." I cry. "I've never had a chance to go to pride. I haven't had a chance to come out to my friends. There are so many more sunrises and sunsets. So much more music to listen to. There's so much more I gotta do. I'm not ready for my life to end. I want these flowers gone, but I don't want to go with them. I don't want to wilt, Yaku." I start sobbing and Yaku pulls me into a hug.

"You aren't going to die." Yaku says. "I'll do anything I can to make sure you don't. We caught it early so if you do something you can solve the problem before it's too late. I can even help you come up with a plan if you want." Yaku offers.

"That'd be amazing Yaku-senpai!" I exclaim.

"But there's a few conditions. First of all, how are you getting home from school? Are one of your parents picking you up?"

"Nope. I take the bus home."

"In that case, would it be okay if I help you get home? Considering how sick you look I'd feel more comfortable if you weren't travelling alone. We could even discuss the plan on the bus."

"Probably a good idea."

"That brings me to my next condition. We need to come up with multiple plans, and you have to put a plan in action as soon as possible. Like if we can come up with a plan and backup plans tonight, you need to initiate your Plan A tomorrow. The longer you put this off, the worse it'll be."

"I know, Yaku-senpai."

"Which brings me to my last thing." He pauses. "You can be angry, you can be upset, you can hate me if that's how you feel but you can't practice until your Hanahaki is cured."

"But Yaku-"

"No buts. Playing while sick will make it even worse. And you have to tell either a coach or a captain. It's up to you whether we tell them now or tomorrow."

I weigh my options. "Can I choose neither?"

"No. But if you want, I can help explain things."

I nod. "I guess let's get it over with."

"Who do you want to tell?" He asks.

I think about the options and the pros and cons of who to ask. "You said Kai figured it out when you had Hanahaki, right?"

"Yeah. Is he who you want to tell?" I nod. "How are you feeling?"

I shrug. "Tired mostly. I was a bit lightheaded before my coughing fit but now that feeling's gone."

Yaku changes the bag in the trash can. "Just because we need to tell someone doesn't mean everybody has to know if you don't want them to. You ready?" I nod and we both walk out the club room and towards the gym with our backpacks. Yaku's volleyball stuff is in the gym still. Along the way, Yaku throws the bag in a different trash can and at some point, I partially end up leaning on him for support.

The team is on a water break. Kuroo and Kai run over to me and Yaku when they see us by the door.

"Hey is everything okay?" Kuroo asks. "You were gone for quite some time."

"Actually, about that, can we talk to you for a moment? Inuoka, are you okay with telling Kuroo too?"

"I guess."

The four of us step outside to talk and I sit on the ground.

"Is everything okay?" Kuroo asks.

I shake my head. "Not feeling well."

"That's putting it gently." Yaku says. "Inuoka has Hanahaki disease. I found him coughing up flower petals in the club room a little while ago and he said he got lightheaded too." I nod. "Is it okay if I leave practice early to take Inuoka home?"

"Yeah. I'll tell coach." Kuroo offers and Yaku shakes his head.

"No need. I left my equipment in the gym so I can tell him. Inuoka and I had actually talked for a bit because of my past experiences." Yaku says.

"He said he'd help me figure out what to do." I say.

"But until we have a plan of what to do and he recovers, I don't think it's wise for Inuoka to be playing volleyball."

"Yeah." The captains agree. I just look at them in shock.

"I'm sorry, Inuoka, but it's for the best. You can't play while you're ill. I think I can speak for the entire team that I wish you the best of luck and a smooth recovery." Kai says.

"Thanks." I say.

"When you get a doctor's note saying that you're okay, you can come back to practice. Take time and make sure you fully recover." Kuroo says.

"I understand" I say.

"Anything else we should know?" Kuroo asks.

"That's it." Yaku says. "I think we're going to head out after I get my equipment."

"Okay then. Take it easy, Inuoka." I nod. "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." Kai says before we all head back to the gym. I only go to follow Yaku.

"Inuoka!" Shibayama says, running up to me. "Are you okay?"

I nod and smile a bit. "Yeah, just not feeling too well so Yaku offered to take me home."

"Get well soon, Sou." He says, before pulling me in a hug.

"Thanks, Yuuki. I'll try." I say before we pull apart. Coach Nekomata calls an end to the water break so break so Yaku and I head out. When we near the entrance of the school I pause and run to the nearest trash can and cough up some flowers.

"Hyacinth?" Yaku asks, looking at a petal on the side of the bin.

"What's that." I ask.

"Hyacinth is a kind of flower. I think the kind you keep coughing up. Mine were anemone."

"I didn't even think about what kind of flower I was coughing up. Is it a normal thing to think about?" I ask as we keep walking.

"Some people find comfort in being able to recognize it. And some people have fairly common flowers like roses and tulips. When I was recovering, I met a girl who was also in the hospital recovering from Hanahaki. Her flowers were roses. And we met another guy who had tulips. We talked quite a bit about different flowers while we were all recovering. We still keep in touch."

"I might have to look it up later on."

-20 minutes later-

"Ok, so what do you know about anything related to treating or curing Hanahaki?" Yaku asks, sitting on the chair near my desk. We didn't talk much on the bus so we're making a plan at my house.

"My three options are confessing, surgery, or die. If I confess and Shibayama feels the same way, I'll get over my Hanahaki, but that requires him to like me back. If I get surgery, I can get rid of the flowers but I also lose my feelings for Shibayama. If I wait too long, there can be complications that can lead to death. If I do nothing and accept death, it'll be slow and painful and suck."

"We're ignoring the death option. You can confess or get surgery." Yaku says. "And you said you don't want to lose this feeling?" I nod. "Which means…" He says and gestures for me to finish.

"Confessing is the best option?" Yaku nods. "And if that fails, I should get surgery?" He nods again.

"Let's start with a plan for confessing. You need to do it soon. It's best to do it in person. Today's Thursday so if you don't confess tomorrow, you have to wait until Monday. Any idea what you're gonna do?"

"Guess I'll do tomorrow. I think I'll put a note in his locker asking him to meet me at our super-secret meetup spot between the end of class and start of practice. Then I'll just tell him how I feel."

He tosses me a pen and notepad from my desk. "Write your note before you forget. Then write what you're actually going to tell him." I nod and start writing.

"Hey Yaku?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I want to do a romantic gesture. Would giving him some flowers be messed up?" I ask.

"Lilacs, a white purple color represents first love. Lilacs in general represent young innocence. You don't need a full dozen, maybe just a few." He suggests. "Also, there's a couple more notes to think about. If all goes well with the confession, you'll be able to get cured on your own, but you still need a doctor's note to play. Worst case scenario you'll probably need surgery. So, you need to explain it to your parents."

"Mhmm…" I start coughing again and point to my trash can. Yaku slides it to me.

-3 hours later-

"Don't worry, Inuoka. You'll be okay." Yaku says. "Just be yourself."

"Thanks, Yaku-senpai. I'll let you know how it goes."

"That's great. Good night, Inuoka."

"Good night, Yaku. Get home safe." I say before Yaku heads out.

I close the door and return to my room and work on homework. When I finish, I go to bed, prepared for tomorrow.

-The next morning-

I look towards the gym. My teammates are probably at practice right now. It's time. I make my way to the building and go to my locker. When I get there, I crouch down and slide the note into Shibayama's locker. Then I get my school supplies and head to my classroom. There's some time before class starts so I just sit in the hallway and close my eyes for a bit.

-2:56 pm-

Only 4 minutes until the school day is over. Only 12 minutes before I confess to Shibayama. Only 19 minutes until practice would normally start, though I'm still benched. My teacher is talking about ions but all I can think about it what's going to happen. I have 3 lilacs sitting in my locker in a small cup of water. Next to it, I have my note of what to say.

"Don't forget that your homework is due Monday. That would be finishing chapter 7 and doing the worksheet I gave out early this week." My teacher says to stall for time. Soon enough, the bell rings and everyone starts packing their things. "Have a nice weekend everybody." Those who have cleaning duty for the day stay behind to help out, but I'm one of the first people to leave. I speed walk to my locker and I get the flower and note, then head to the water fountain between the classrooms and lockers. I read the note once more and notice the people passing by. Some headed to clubs, others going home. Some with friends or a partner, while others leave alone.

By 3:05, the hallways near the classrooms are deserted, except for me and a few other people who start heading out.

"Inuoka?" Shibayama comes up to me. "You wanted to tell me something?"

"Uh yeah." It's now or never. I take a deep breath. "These are for you." I say, handing him the flowers. "Yuuki, you're one of my best friends. We may have started off as locker neighbors and teammates, but as we got to know each other, I fell for you. Would you like to go out with me?"

He looks at the flowers, then at me as he shifts his weight between his left and right foot. As the silence grows, I mentally prepare for the worst. "Sou, I'm sorry. You're one of my best friends. It's just, it's just that I've never really thought about dating or relationships before. I just don't know if I feel the same way. I'm sorry. You're my best friend and I hope this doesn't change anything between us." He pulls me into a hug. "Here." He says after we separate, trying to return the flowers. "They're beautiful, but I don't know if I can accept them."

"It's okay. You can have them." I would like as few flowers in my life as possible at the current moment.

"If you're sure, then okay." He says. "Ready to go to practice?"

"I can't today. I've been under the weather so I'm benched until I'm better." He looks hurt. "Don't worry, it's not contagious."

"I'm not worried about if it's contagious. I'm worried because you're sick. It's gotta be bad if you're benched!" He exclaims.

"I'll be fine by Monday." I say with a smile. "I'm just gonna head home. Have fun at practice." I say before heading out the school building.

When I get to the bus station, I look at my phone. I have one new text from Yaku asking how it went. I don't have the heart to tell him.

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**Author's Note: Didn't mean to go that hard with Yaku's backstory oops. Anemone symbolize fading hope, death, and forsaken love. Feel free to leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter.**


	4. Budding Realizations

**Author's Note: Thanks to everybody who's enjoyed this story so far. I really appreciate everybody who's liked or commented on the fic! I decided to throw in something from Shibayama's perspective. Fun fact: this chapter was almost called "Shibayama's Gay Awakening." If something is bold and in italics, it's a sent text. If it's just italics, it's a received text or a note.**

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**Shibayama's POV:**

_"Hey Shibayama-kun. Can I talk to you after school before practice? It's nothing bad, it's just that there's something I'd like to tell you that is a conversation best to have in person and I'd rather it be a private conversation. If you can make it, meet me at our normal meetup spot at 3:08. _

_From,_

_Inuoka"_

I sit on the ground and read the letter I found in my locker this morning once again. I haven't seen Inuoka throughout the day and neither has Lev. Inuoka wasn't even at practice this morning which is odd. He looked a bit ill the other day so I thought he might be home sick, but this note suggests that he's at school. I glance at my phone and realize that I should be heading to the spot. Our normal meetup spot is the water fountain halfway between the classrooms and our lockers.

I close my locker and head to the meetup place. By now the hallways are empty so I find Inuoka right away. I pause, taken aback due to how pale he is.

"Inuoka?" I make my way closer to him. "You wanted to tell me something?"

"Uh yeah." He pauses, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. In this moment I notice how prominent the dark circles under his eyes are. "These are for you." He says, handing me a few flowers. "Yuuki, you're one of my best friends. We may have started off as locker neighbors and teammates, but as we got to know each other, I fell for you. Would you like to go out with me?"

I look at the flowers and shift my weight from side to side. I like Inuoka but I'm not sure if it's like we're close friends or like I _like_, like him. I don't want to lead him on if we feel differently but I don't want to be awkward.

"Sou, I'm sorry. You're one of my best friends. It's just, it's just that I've never really thought about dating or relationships before. I just don't know if I feel the same way. I'm sorry. You're my best friend and I hope this doesn't change anything between us." I pull him into a hug.

"Here." I say after we separate. I give him back the flowers. "They're beautiful, but I don't know if I can accept them."

"It's okay. You can have them." He hands them back to be. I hold onto them with both hands.

"If you're sure, then okay. Ready to go to practice?"

He shakes his head and I frown slightly. "I can't today. I've been under the weather so I'm benched until I'm better. Don't worry, it's not contagious." I thought something was wrong. I can't believe it.

"I'm not worried about if it's contagious. I'm worried because you're sick. It's gotta be bad if you're benched!" I say.

"I'll be fine by Monday." He says with a smile, brushing it off. "I'm just gonna head home. Have fun at practice." He heads out of the building before I can say anything else. I stand there for a moment before I realize that I need to get going to practice.

I head to the club room to drop off my things and get dressed. Then I head to the gym.

"Sorry I'm late." I apologize then proceed to run a lap to warm up.

"Where's Inuoka?" Lev asks.

"He said he wasn't feeling well so he went home."

-2 hours later-

"So, why were you late for practice, Shibayama-kun?" Yamamoto asks after practice. All eyes turn to me.

"Um…Well you see. Someone wanted to talk to me about something." I say.

"What kind of something?" Lev asks. "And what's with the flowers? They weren't there when we got here, right?"

"The flowers and my lateness are related." I admit. "Someone confessed to me and asked me out after school."

"Kuroo, Kai, Yaku, you hear that?" Yamamoto starts. "Shibayama's been asked out. Soon Inuoka will be able to drive and Lev will be applying to colleges. They're growing up so fast."

"Shut up, Yamamoto." Yaku says. "They're just first years."

"Besides, I don't see you getting asked out, being able to drive, or applying to colleges." Kuroo remarks.

Yamamoto mutters something under his breath.

"So, who was it?" Lev asks. "Who asked you out?"

"You probably wouldn't know them. They're from our year, but they're in class one." I want to keep the fact that it was Inuoka a secret.

"Isn't Inuoka in class one? Maybe he'd know the person." Yamamoto suggests. "Anyways, what'd you say?"

"I turned them down. I'm not ready to commit to a relationship right now." I say. "But we're still friends." I follow up with after seeing the look on the third years' faces.

"It's good that you're still friends." Kai says.

"Yeah." It'd be awkward for the team if we weren't. "I think I'm going to head home." I say after a long silence. "Good night, everyone."

"You too." My teammates respond before I exit the club room, gently holding the flowers Inuoka gave me a few hours ago.

-7 hours later-

**_Hey Yaku. Are you up by any chance?_**

My thumb is hovering over the send button. He's the only person I feel like I can talk to about this.

Once I finally press send, I set my phone down, afraid to check it. As the silence grows, I continue to toss and turn.

Eventually I hear my phone buzz. I quickly unlock it and read the text.

_Yeah, what's up?_

**_I need relationship advice?_**

_Would you prefer to talk on the phone or over text?_

**_Would you be okay to call?_**

_Sure_

A moment later my phone starts ringing. "Yaku?"

"Shibayama? You don't seem like the kind of person who's usually awake at 2 am. What's on your mind?"

"How do you know if you like someone? Like. _Like_, like them?" I ask.

"Well it's hard to describe. When you like-like someone, they just make you happy. The thought of spending time with them or even a nice message might bring a smile to your face. Their presence usually brightens up your day. Hey, by any chance does this have anything to do with the confession you got earlier?"

"Yeah." I whisper. "I-uh, ummm- I'm not sure how I feel about him."

"How so?"

"Well you see, the thing is that, I turned him down because I said I wasn't sure if I like-like him and now I, ugh this is so confusing." I stretch my arms, setting my phone on my bed and sighing loudly.

"You're not wrong. What specifically are you confused about?" Yaku's voice comes through the phone after a moment and I pick it back up.

"I've never really thought about this stuff before. Like in middle school while my classmates were talking about crushes and which classmates they found cute, I was just focused on volleyball and grades."

"Hmm…" Yaku pauses. "So, you've never had a crush on someone before?"

"Yeah."

"This is- this is a big conversation. Would you like to meet up and talk about it in person?"

"Yeah. Where should we meet?"

"Wanna meet at a café? We can get some hot cocoa and talk about it."

"That sounds nice."

"How's noon sound?"

"Sounds good to me."

"See you then." Yaku yawns into the phone. "Try to get some rest."

"Okay. Good night, Yaku-senpai."

"Good night, Shibayama." Yaku says before hanging up the phone.

-10 hours later-

"Oh, Shibayama, you look exhausted. Come on, let's get you something to drink. My treat." Yaku says, when he sees me at the coffeeshop.

"It's okay, Yaku."

"No. I insist." He says while we walk to the line.

When we get to the front of the line, Yaku orders our drinks. After he pays, we go back to our table.

"Were you able to get any rest?" He asks.

I hold up my finger to pause then yawn. "A few hours or so. After we got off the phone, I wanted to write down my thoughts then I did a lot of tossing and turning but I eventually drifted off for a bit."

He sighs. "Well, better than nothing. You said you wrote down your thoughts?"

"Yeah." I start to dig through my backpack for my notepad. "It's in here somewhere. Think I found it. Wait, no, that's a copy of a manga I was reading. Here it is." I say pulling out the notepad.

"What kind of stuff did you write down?" He asks.

"Lots of stuff. Pros and cons of dating or not dating, questions about dating, how I felt during the confession, Inuoka's dreamiest features-." I pause when I realize what I said. He looks at me with an eyebrow raised. "Oh… Um… I should backtrack. Well, you see-."

"Two hot cocoas with whipped cream." A barista calls.

"I got it." Yaku says, getting up. He comes back a moment later with our drinks and sets one down on the table in front of me. "You were saying?" He says after he sits back down."

"Yeah. I should backtrack. But you can't tell anyone. Inuoka was the one who confessed to me. We're still friends, please don't tell the other upperclassmen, I don't want things to be weird on the team."

"Your secret's safe with me. Any other information that you think I should know to help give advice?" Yaku asks.

"How much do you remember from last night's conversation?"

"You said you don't know how you feel about Inuoka." Yaku says.

"Yeah… How do you know if you like someone?" I ask.

"Well you see, you usually start off as friends so it can be hard to tell you have a crush until you've fallen and fallen hard. Their presence just lights up your day. When they're sad or sick it just breaks your heart. And you want to see them be happy again. And it goes both ways. They make you happy too. You can just be comfortable together and enjoy each other's presence. It doesn't matter if you're doing something super big together or just enjoying each other's company in silence. Just being together makes you happy. And the thought of them can make you smile." Yaku explains.

I start thinking about what he just said. "Isn't that-" I pause to collect my thoughts. "Isn't that the same as friendship? Like don't you hate to see your friends sad? Don't you want to see them happy? Don't they make you happy? I'm so confused."

"You're right." Yaku pauses for a minute then sighs. "Okay. New approach. You're friends with Lev, right?"

"Yeah but I don't see what this has to do with things."

"You're also friends with Inuoka, right?" He asks.

"Yep."

"When you spend time with them, how does it feel?" Yaku asks. "Like does spending time with Inuoka feel different than spending time with Lev?"

"Hmm…" There are definitely some differences. "Well Inuoka and I spend more time alone together. And also, when we're together we're always close. Like physically close."

"Anything else?" I stop to think. After a long pause, Yaku speaks up. "Let's talk about the other stuff you wrote down. You said you wrote down Inuoka's dreamiest features? Care to explain?"

"His smile. It just lights up a room. And how passionate he is about things. And he's so kind. On our first day he offered to switch lockers because I couldn't reach mine and we only knew each other a few minutes at the time." I can't help but smile when talking about my best friend. "He always makes me happy and when we're together I just feel, I feel at peace."

Wait. I think I _like_, like Inuoka.

"I think I _like_, like Inuoka. Yaku what do I do?" I ask softly. "I should text him." I decide. I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone but Yaku stops me.

"That's not the best idea. This kind of conversation should be had in person. But since he hasn't been feeling well you should wait until he's back at school and give him the weekend to rest." Yaku explains. "Also, you should have a plan for this."

"Like what? I just need to tell him I like him back, right?"

"Yes, but you need to prepare for specifics. Think of what you're going to say. And when you're going to tell him." Yaku says. "Talk to him as soon as possible. Find him _first thing_ on Monday. Let him know how you feel. Maybe tell him you needed the weekend to think about it. But you can't put it off. _Trust me._"

"Can I do the same thing he did when he confessed to me?" I ask. "He put a note in my locker asking to meet after school to talk and that's when he confessed to me."

"If that's what you feel like doing, but don't wait until the end of the day."

"Lunch break?"

"Yeah."

"Write a note now. You can probably put it in his locker before practice. Since he got benched, he might not be getting to school early."

-1 hour later-

"Looks good." Yaku says after he finishes reading over the note. He smiles.

"Thank you Yaku." I yawn. "I think I'm going to head home."

He nods. "That's a good idea. Get some rest. Take it easy today."

"Got it."

We pack up our things, throw out our empty hot cocoa cups, and head out. We spend the walk in comfortable silence for a few blocks until Yaku stops at a traffic light.

"My home is this way. Get home safe. I'll see you at practice." He says.

"Thanks, Yaku. You too!" I say. He starts walking while I wait for the light to change. When it turns green, I cross the street and continue walking home."

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**Author's Note: This chapter wasn't supposed to be this long. Oops. We're reaching the beginning of the end. Don't worry, we'll see how Inuoka is holding up after the initial rejection next chapter. If you've been reading my college au, ****Learning Curve****, expect an update in the near future. If you liked this chapter, feel free to leave a follow/favorite/review. Have a nice day.**


	5. Noxious Weeds

**Author's Note: Get ready for the angst. I cried writing this. Real quick, I'd like to give a shout out to Aiden from the Orange Court Discord for Beta reading this chapter. I really appreciate it. Also thank you to anyone who left a kudos either here or on Learning Curve this past week. Last week I had finals (and true to finals, my body decided to fail on me) so I was constantly tired and in pain and had so much work to do and my allergies were acting up to, but all the emails I got saying I got kudos really kept me going, so thank you.**

**Warnings: Coughing/throwing up (flowers). Mentions of doctors, surgery, and suffocating. Plus, everything that comes with being sick.**

**Inuoka's POV:**

I wake up and stretch my arms. My blinds are closed so I have no idea what time of day it is. I turn on my phone and see that it's just past 6. Is it 6 am or 6 pm though? After a moment I figure out it's pm. Also, it's Saturday. Oh god it's Saturday. I slept all day today?! I remember confessing to Shibayama yesterday, getting rejected, coming home and sleeping. There were a few really bad coughing fits, but I just went back to sleep after each one. The trash can next to my bed and the huge amount of petals in and around it confirms the coughing fits. Once I stop thinking about how long I just slept, I notice that I have about 30 texts, as well as a couple missed calls. I start by clicking to see the texts from my mom.

**_Mommy:_**

6:23 pm

_Sou? Dinner's ready_

6:30 pm

_Your dad came to get you and he said you were asleep. Leftovers are in the fridge for when you wake up if you're hungry_

10:30 pm

Your dad and I are going to bed

Good night

3 U

9:30 am

_I came by and you were still asleep, but it felt like you were running a fever. When you wake up, let me know. I can give you some medicine to help._

12:57 pm

_Come get lunch if you're awake._

1:45 pm

_You were still asleep. I put a cup of water on your nightstand for you. If you aren't awake in time for dinner, I'm waking you up. 3_

5:30 pm

_I'm about to start making dinner. If you aren't awake in 45 minutes, I'm sending your father to get you_

6:07 pm

**_I'm awake_**

After I text my mom, I grab the glass of water on the nightstand and drink the whole thing. I make a mental note to thank my mom when I go down for dinner. I really needed that water. After I set down the glass, I look through the texts from the team chat, which feel irrelevant because I'm benched. I then look at the texts from my dad, which are similar to the ones my mom sent. I pause. "Better rip off the bandage." I mutter before opening the message of texts from Yaku.

**_Yaku:_**

3:17 pm

_How'd it go?_

5:30 pm

_Are you okay?_

_I heard from Shibayama that he turned you down_

_Well Lev asked him about the flowers and he explained that someone confessed but he turned that someone down_

_He didn't say it was you, he just said it was someone in your year from class 1 but I knew it was you_

7:39 pm

_Have you told your parents?_

8:03

_You don't have to deal with this alone. _

2:45 am

_Don't tell your parents if you haven't yet._

2:00 pm

_Inuoka, do *NOT* tell your parents you have Hanahaki yet. Trust me. Try to hold off a couple more days if you can help it_

5:03 pm

_Inuoka I haven't heard from you all day, I don't know if you're asleep, or busy, or ignoring me, or really sick, but let me know when you get this. It's really important._

6:09

**_Why should I?_**

_You're awake!_

_How are you feeling?_

**_Like ass_**

**_I slept all day but I still feel exhausted_**

**_Anyways, why shouldn't I? What's the point?_**

**_I'm benched from practice. Shibayama turned me down. I'll need to get surgery. I need to tell them. They probably figured out that I'm sick so I might as well tell them._**

**_Hey mom, hey dad, I have hanahaki disease. Let's have a doctor cut me open to get the flowers out. I tried confessing to the person and he doesn't feel the same way._**

_Inuoka…_

**_In fact, my mom stopped by my room while I was asleep earlier_**

**_She probably saw the flowers I coughed up during several bad fits_**

**_She probably knows_**

_Shit_

_Are you okay?_

**_Take a guess_**

_Okay that's fair_

_But I need you to listen_

_I'm not sure how much to tell you, but trust me, you don't want the surgery_

**_So I'll suffocate on flowers instead?_**

_No_

**_I gotta go_**

_This is important. Trust me._

"Sou, dinner's ready." My dad calls.

I almost yell that I'll be right down then remember how bad my throat is. I set down my phone and go downstairs.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" My dad asks.

"My throat's a bit sore." I say. "But sleep helped." I turn to my mom. "Thank you for leaving me that glass of water. It helped a bit."

"Dinner should also help." Mom says. "Come grab a bowl." She's pouring soup into some bowls. My dad gets the rice and vegetables plated too. He puts some salmon on his plate and my mom's plate. "Would you like some salmon, Sou?"

I shake my head. "Not tonight, sorry." I grab the dishes and bring them to the table. We sit down.

"Thank you for the meal." I say before digging in to the soup. It helps a lot with my throat. "This soup is so good." I say.

"It's the same soup we usually have." My mom says.

"Still, it tastes great." I tell her.

"Sore throat?" She asks. I nod and eat another spoonful of soup. The warm broth feels soothing after coughing up so many flowers. "Sou, honey, we heard you coughing a lot throughout the day and I saw the flowers in the trash can." She says. I pause. I guess I have to come clean.

"Mom, I-" I start to say, but she cuts me off.

"Sou, were you coughing up those flowers?" She asks me. I nod. "Honey, that sounds likes Hanahaki Disease." Busted.

"I know, mom. One of my teammates told me the same thing."

"I'm going to schedule a doctor's appointment for this week. That way we can find out what to do. Also, no volleyball until the doctor says you can play." She says. By what to do, she probably means plan for me to get surgery and I can't play volleyball anyways. I should probably read more stuff online to see when I'll be able to play volleyball again.

"Kuroo-senpai already benched me." I tell my parents. They seem a bit shocked. "Can I be excused?" I ask my parents before they ask any more questions. I might have said too much by mentioning that I've already been benched. "I'm not too hungry." I tell them. I haven't had much appetite lately and while the soup is really good, I'd rather avoid this conversation for as long as possible. Maybe if I agree to go to the doctor and they confirm that it's Hanahaki Disease, I can agree to surgery and then my family won't ask any questions. But even if my family doesn't ask anything, it doesn't mean I'm free from being asked about it. If I have to miss school because of the surgery, my classmates, and probably teachers will ask where I was. And my teammates will probably ask me what's going on if I have to miss practice for a while. Yaku would understand. Maybe Kuroo and Kai would understand too. I don't know about the second years, but my fellow first years will definitely ask questions. Lev's always curious about something, so he'll hunt me down and try to get me to explain my absence. Then there's Yuuki. Even if he doesn't feel the same way, we're best friends so he'll ask what's going on. Well we're currently best friends. The surgery will make me lose my feelings for him. Is it possible to regain feelings? Will we be able to be friends again after the surgery? Is it possible to fall in love again? Is it possible to get Hanahaki again?

"Can you try to finish off your soup at least?" My dad asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. I nod and finish it quickly before excusing myself. "We'll put your leftovers in the fridge so if you're up for it later, you can it."

"Thank you, dad." I tell him. I put my dishes in the dishwasher and go to my room.

I shut the door behind me and take out my phone. I got a few more texts from Yaku while I was having dinner. I ignore them and look for my sister's contact. I press the call button and put the phone to my ear, waiting it as it rings. After a few rings, she picks up.

"Hello?" She asks. Her voice sounds heavy from exhaustion. Now I feel even worse for what I'm about to tell her. "Sou-chan?" Her voice perks up when she says my name.

"Yeah, it's me." I tell her. "Nice to talk to you, Haruko." I try to make my voice sound livelier like it normally is.

"How are you?" She asks. In a matter of seconds, she sounds like her normal, cheery self. I can't help but smile slightly before I remember the circumstances.

I shake my head even though she can't see it over the phone. "Not good. There's something I gotta tell you." I take a deep breath.

"Is everything alright?" She asks. Her voice starts to get higher and a little bit louder.

"No. Mom and dad already know, but I figured I should tell you too. I have," I pause and think of how to tell her. "I'm sick. I've been sick for at least a couple weeks now. It's Hanahaki."

"Oh, Sou-chan…" She says gently. Her pitch gets closer to its usual range. "Is it for someone I know?" She asks a moment later. When I was first reading about Hanahaki from people who experienced it, I saw a lot of people get asked who they're in love with, but she didn't. At least not directly. I appreciate it.

"Yeah…" She may have only met Yuuki once, but we take a lot of selfies together, so of course she knows who he is. I don't think I can tell her about the rejection. I don't want to break her heart. "Mom said she's going to schedule a doctor's appointment for this week. I'll let you know if I need surgery, but I just wanted to keep you in the loop."

"Thank you for letting me know, Sou-chan." She says. "If there's anything you need, text me."

"Alright, Haruko. Hey, if you have some time, can you tell me about college? How's that going?" I ask her. It's been too long since we've talked.

"It's been so wild. I have some big lecture classes with like a hundred people and the most unbelievable things happen in there…" She starts.

"Sou-chan, I need to go now. Some of my friends and I are having a study session tonight." She says suddenly. We've been talking for some time now. "Take care of yourself and keep me updated on everything. I'll be home next weekend. See you then."

"I'll see you next weekend, Haruko." I tell her. "Good luck with school."

"Thanks! You too!" She says. "I love you."

"I love you too." I tell her.

I look at the screen after I've hung up. and it says we'd been talking for about half an hour. During that time, I got a few more texts from Yaku and one from Kuroo. I start by reading Kuroo's texts because I already know what Yaku's are about.

**_Kuroo-senpai!:_**

7:10 pm

_Hey Inuoka I hope you're doing well. If you get this message, can you check in with either me or Yaku? He's been pretty worried about you_

**_Sure_**

I guess I can't avoid this any longer. I find my text conversation with Yaku. Without reading any of his messages, I press the call button. I put the phone to my ear. He picks up immediately.

"Inuoka?" He asks.

"Hey, senpai." I greet him awkwardly.

On the other end I hear some chatter. "Is that him?" I assume another person is asking Yaku.

"Yes, now shut up." Yaku says back to the other person before turning his attention to me. "So… How was your day?"

"Could've been better." I admit. "I spend all day asleep except for the few times I woke up with coughing fits. Also, my mom found out." I say quietly.

"Inuoka…" He trails off.

"My mom said she's going to schedule a doctor's appointment for this week. I think I might have to get the surgery."

"Shit." Yaku curses.

"What's wrong?" The other person in the room with Yaku asks.

"For fuck's sake, shut up Kuroo." Yaku says in a hushed whisper. "Sorry about him, he's also worried."

"I'm scared, Yaku. I'm really, really scared. I'll lose all my feelings for Yuuki and I'm not ready for that."

"Inuoka, you have to listen to me, okay?" He asks.

"Okay."

"If you can help it, you need to go to school on Monday. I wasn't sure how much I should tell you, but at this point, I don't care. Shibayama called me last night and we met up today and talked about some things because he was a confused by his feelings. He told me he's never really thought about crushes and love and stuff so he didn't realize he felt the same way when you confessed to him. He's going to ask you out on Monday." He tells me.

"Holy crap."

"Yeah. That's what I've been trying to tell you." He says. He continues talking, but I can't focus as I feel my throat tighten. I set the phone down and grab my trash can. "Inuoka?" He asks. "Inuoka are you still there?"

I cough up some petals and pick the phone back up. "Yaku-senpai, I really hate this."

"If it goes well, it'll be over within a couple weeks. Some symptoms still linger, but nothing will be as intense or as bad." He tells me. "Try to avoid the surgery, but if it comes down to it, I'll be by your side if you need anything. I've been there. I know how it feels."

"Right…" I feel bad for making Yaku worry, remembering that he's also had Hanahaki.

"The most important thing right now is to come to school on Monday. Things will change afterwards." He tells me. "Also, be sure to keep your doctor updated on things like your recovery, and you'll need that note to be able to come back to practice. Do you have any other questions?"

"Nope."

"If you need anything at all, you can text me. I don't care what time it is. If I'm asleep or busy, I'll help when I have a moment." He offers.

"Thank you, senpai. Good night."

"Good night, Inuoka." He says.

I hang up the phone and rest my head on my pillow. I'm exhausted even though I've only been awake for a couple hours. I don't fight it when my eyes slip shut and I fall asleep again.

-Monday-

When I wake up, I glance at my clock. I need to move fast to avoid being late for school. My school supplies are scattered throughout the room from yesterday's attempt at doing homework while being sick. Yaku helped a lot by making sure my answers made sense, but I have no idea how legible my handwriting is on anything I wrote. I gather my supplies, put them in my bag, and zip it up. In moments like these, I can appreciate the school uniform because it means I don't have to plan an outfit. I guess I don't need to bring my volleyball gear since I'm still benched. With my school supplies packed, I head to the bathroom. Trying to make the most of my time, I multitask, trying to manage my bedhead while swishing some mouthwash around in my mouth. When I'm done, I clean out my mouth with water from the sink. I grab my bag, and go downstairs to head to school. Both my parents are already down there.

"Good morning." I call to them.

"Good morning, Sou. Are you sure you're okay to go to school today?" My mom asks. She walks over to me and places her hand on my forehead. "You're still feeling warm."

"I'll be fine. If I'm not, I'll go to the nurse's office." I tell her.

"Well, take some medicine before you go. It'll help." She tells me. She pours some cold medicine in a cup for me. I drink it then immediately get a glass of orange juice to chase it down. "And don't forget to wear a mask."

"Okay." I grab a couple masks. I put one on and the other goes in my backpack. "I need to get going for the train."

"Hurry up then." My mom says. She pulls me in a hug. "I love you."

"Love you too mom." I hug her back. I go over to give my dad a hug. "Love you too, dad."

"You too, Sou. Take it easy today." He tells me.

After I give each of my parents a hug, I grab my lunch. "I will. I really need to go now. See you later." I tell them as I make my way to the door. I put on my shoes.

"Goodbye." They say. I close the door behind me and lock it. I put on some music to listen to while I go to the bus stop. When I'm waiting for the bus, I get a text from Yuuki.

**_Shibayama!:_**

_Hey, I see you're still not at practice. I hope you're still able to make it to school. I hope you're feeling better!_

_I gotta run, water break's over. Hopefully we'll see each other during lunch?_

I send a text back telling him I'll be there. I can't help but think about what Yaku told me the other day. Is it possible that he actually likes me back and that I won't need to get surgery? I could play volleyball with him again in a couple of weeks, rather than I couple of months? I don't want to get my hopes up, but it would be the best thing I could imagine right now. I get pulled out of my thoughts by the familiar feeling in my throat. I turn my head into my elbow out of habit, even though I'm wearing a mask and cough out a couple petals. I can feel them against my face so I go over to a nearby trash can and take off the mask to knock out the petals. I try to avoid the looks of pity from some of the nearby adults while I put my mask back on. Soon enough, the bus is here and I'm headed to school.

**Author's Note: I swear I read over this like 8 times this week to make sure it's good. I hope you enjoy it. I know this was supposed to be the last chapter, but once again I decided to make it longer. Next chapter will probably be the last chapter. If you enjoyed this, please leave a like/kudos/comment. Until next time, have a nice day.**


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